Peter Berg

As a multi-faceted actor, writer and director, Peter Berg moved with ease from theater to film to television and back again. After making a name for himself primarily as an actor first and foremost, e...
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Peter Berg developing Rihanna documentary

By:
WENN.com
Mar 11, 2015

Director Peter Berg is reteaming with his Battleship star Rihanna to give fans a sneak peak at her life away from the spotlight and the paparazzi lenses in a feature-length documentary. The filmmaker gave the Umbrella singer her first big acting break in 2012 and now they are working together on a new big screen project.
The documentary has been described as an "unfiltered look into Rihanna's life and how she's ascended to become a global icon", and is said to be "much more a character study than a music film", according to Deadline.com.
Reports suggest Berg's inspiration will be 1967 Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, which was directed by D. A. Pennebaker.
Rihanna is currently working on the follow-up to her 2012 album Unapologetic, with Kanye West as executive producer.
The frequent collaborators are also rumoured to be planning a joint summer (15) tour.

Movie hunk Taylor Kitsch and Blurred Lines video girl Emily Ratajkowski have teamed up to star in a new advert for video game Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare. In the live-action trailer, the viewer-as-soldier fights alongside Kitsch as he tackles a futuristic warzone.
Ratajkowski appears in a dream sequence.
The trailer also reunited Kitsch with his Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg, who takes charge of the commercial.
Gamers who bought the new Call of Duty when it hit stores on 4 November (14) will take orders from another actor, Kevin Spacey, who appears in computer graphic form in Advanced Warfare.

Inflation has turned Mark Wahlberg's movie adaptation of The Six Million Dollar Man into The Six Billion Dollar Man. The actor has officially signed on to reunite with his Lone Survivor director Peter Berg to revamp the hit 1970s TV series, about an astronaut whose body is rebuilt with bionic limbs after an accident.
Wahlberg will co-produce and star in the new version as Steve Austin, who uses his super-human powers to become a secret agent for the U.S. government, according to Deadline.com.
The original show, starring Lee Majors, was based on sci-fi author Martin Caidin's 1972 book Cyborg and spawned a spin-off series, titled The Bionic Woman.
The big screen adaptation has been in development since the 1990s, with Jim Carrey and Leonardo DiCaprio previously attached to star.

Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
Maybe it’s the massive box office success of Transformers: Age of Extinction, but it seems like when studios look at Mark Wahlberg now, all they see is money. Universal even has a specific amount in mind: six million dollars. According to The Tracking Board, the studio is looking at Wahlberg to front a reboot of the 1970s television show The Six Million Dollar Man. Different versions of the project have been in the works for years now, with everyone from Jim Carrey and Todd Phillips to Leonardo DiCaprio and Bryan Singer attached at some point. However, now that Peter Berg is now on board to produce and possibly direct the film, it seems as if Universal is finally coming close to building their perfect reboot.
Though Wahlberg has starred in numerous summer blockbusters and action films, he’s yet to front a franchise of his own (coming in at the fourth installment of Transformers doesn't really count), and The Six Million Dollar Man would be the perfect vehicle for him. Despite being a reboot of a well-known property, it’s unlike most of the other franchises currently in theaters, which allows him to stand out from all of the other robot-punching and punching robot films in theaters. Thus far, Wahlberg has had a rather diverse career, moving easily between big-budget action films, smaller indies and serious Oscar contenders, so if he were going to attach himself to multiple films at once, he’d probably want something different than what he’s already done and what everyone else is currently doing.
Wahlberg’s most recent collaboration with Berg, Lone Survivor, offered him a similar chance to blend action and spectacle with a more serious, dramatic story, which bodes well for the potential of The Six Million Dollar Man. Granted, Berg’s record with blockbusters is somewhat spotty – in addition to the excellent Lone Survior, he’s also made the disastrous Battleship – but since his best projects tend to be the ones with significant weight to them, having an actor like Wahlberg, who has made his mark on both drama and action films on board should help point things in a more positive direction.
But Wahlberg isn’t just a great choice for Austin because of his ability to handle the heavier moments; he’s also carved out a niche in Hollywood as the tough guy next door, a normal, hardworking fella who just so happens to be able to beat people up. Before he was rebuilt into a bionic hero, Austin was a regular joe, a pilot and military man who just happened to have superhuman abilities. Wahlberg’s persona makes him an ideal fit for the role, especially since the character stays relatively down-to-earth even after he becomes a hero. And since his performance in Transformers has proven that he's able to give even the flattest roles some of his trademark charm, he should have no problem making Austin a likable, entertaining hero in addition to an admirable one.
Of course, all of this is dependent on Wahlberg being able to find time in his busy schedule in order to sign on to The Six Million Dollar Man in the first place. He's already got six films lined up for release in the next two years, including Ted 2 and The Gambler, and with Transformers dominating the box office, he's likely fielding offers for all kinds of franchises right now. Still, The Six Million Dollar Man does seem poised to offer him a bit more than the other blockbusters, reboots and robot movies set to take over theaters, and it seems like Wahlberg might be exactly what this particular franchise needs to get off the ground.
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Actor Mark Wahlberg is reportedly in talks to star in a movie reboot of The Six Million Dollar Man. The show ran on U.S. TV from 1974 to 1978 and now filmmaker Peter Berg is working to bring the series to the big screen, according to The Tracking Board.
If the Transformers: Age of Extinction star signs on to the film, it will reunite him with his Lone Survivor director.
The movie, which centres on an astronaut whose body is rebuilt with nuclear powered limbs after an accident, has been in development since the 1990s with Jim Carrey and Leonardo DiCaprio previously attached to star.

"I'm on Tinder - don't judge me." Single comedienne/actress Whitney Cummings is trying to find love via the popular online dating app. The funny girl is looking for love again after splitting from moviemaker Peter Berg.

Universal via Everett Collection
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is sure having a moment. The actor — who in a past life was a college football player, and then professional wrestler, and then a professional wrestler who tried to act sometimes, has finally become a full-fledged Hollywood behemoth who can start up his own projects — is ready to hit the gridiron once again. HBO has decided to pick up Johnson’s half-hour series Ballers, which will follow a collection of active and retired football players living in Miami. Johnson is starring as Spencer Strasmore, an ex-pro athlete, along side Rob Corddry, Omar Benson, and John David Washington, among others. Johnson is executive producing the project along with Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg. And with that, Dwayne Johnson has officially made the leap from athlete who acts to real actor.
For all the grace and athletic prowess that athletes display in competition, the long leap from on field success to success on screen is often a jump too far. At first, things looked dismal for the Rock, whose list of early films lined 7/11 DVD kiosks circa 2008. But a couple years and barbell lifts later and the Rock is literally bigger and better than ever. He was the highest grossing actor of 2013, and his turns in films like Pain and Gain raised the eyebrows of even the stodgiest critics. The Rock, now serious thespian Dwayne Johnson, has managed to create a persona that has studios champing at the bits. He has a charisma and a leading man quality mixed with a lughead physique. He’s like all the best parts of George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger melded into one titan of an actor. It’s something that he probably picked up from his years of playing the People’s Champion in the wrestling ring. Over the years, he’s developed a screen presence that has transformed him from a chuckle-worthy schlock headliner who starred in unfortunate projects like The Tooth Fairy and Race to Witch Mountain, into being one of the main draws in the ostensibly mindless but stylistically impressive The Fast and the Furious series. The kind of star that sends Twitter into a retweeting frenzy every time he releases a new picture of himself in costume for his upcoming Hercules movie... revealing to the public that he's somehow discovered whole new muscles to make bigger.
And now Johnson is starring in his own television series. Sure, this might have seemed like a step backwards a few short years ago, but in 2013, many A-list film stars are treating television like a home away from home. Just look at Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who are both doing great work on another HBO show, True Detective. Just like McConaughey, it seems like Johnson is going through a bit of a career Renaissance... a Rock-aissance, if you will. McConaughey redefined his career from playing sleazy, hokey romantic comedy leads to stellar dramatic leads (still sleazy) to the point of being a major contender for the Best Actor Oscar this year (for Dallas Buyers Club). Similarly, Johnson has altered his public perception from being that wrestler who makes family films now to a bona fide box office winner. And while the McConaissance is a well-documented phenomenon in the media, the Rock-aissance is a change that’s been brewing under the surface. Somewhere in the last two years, Johnson pulled a bait and switch. He performed a sleight of hand while everyone was looking, but no one was really watching. Gone is the star of The Tooth Fairy, and here to stay is the kind of actor who can spearhead his own television show on the most prestigious network on premium cable. He may never lose "The Rock" moniker for as long as he stays in the public eye, but he's gained some serious cred as an actor.
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Fox Searchlight via Everett Collection/Lionsgate via Everett Collection
Every year, the Academy Awards has the gargantuan task of distilling an entire year of film into a small number of nominations slots for each category, and like every year, this one saw some very deserving films and performances left on the chopping block after the nominations were announced. But the the sheer number and quality of the fantastic films and performances that dotted cinemas last year makes the exclusions from this year's Oscar race sting worse than it has in recent memory. These potential nominees made very strong cases for being recognized by the Academy, but were unfortunately nudged out in favor of other films.
Best PictureInside Llewyn DavisNot nominating the Coen Brothers' beautiful tragicomedy about an artist struggling to keep hold of his artistic integrity is almost a crime, especially when there are only nine nominees listed for Best Picture out of a possible 10.
Best Director Park Chan-wook (Stoker) Director Park Chan-wook imbued his first English language project with a dark and gorgeous imagery that trumps many of the more conventional films nominated in the category, and should have been nominated.
Best Actor James Gandolfini (Enough Said) Gandolfini’s last film is an appropriate swan song that saw the actor breaking out of his Mafioso tough guy holding pattern and portray divorcee Albert with a loveable vulnerability.
Robert Redford (All is Lost) Redford’s battle with the elements had us dazzled, and the emotional heft that is is able to give the film despite the sparse dialogue and even sparser cast list is truly a feat.
Best ActressBrie Larson (Short Term 12) Brie Larson shines in this small story about the wounds we carry, and how difficult it is to truly let someone in to share the pain.
Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) Gerwig fills Frances Halladay with hope and splendor, as we watch the tale of a young Brooklynite grasping at her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Dreams that might be just out of her reach.
Supporting ActorJames Franco (Spring Breakers)We wish we lived in a world where the "look at my s**t" scene from Spring Breakers would play during the Academy Awards telecast. Sadly, this is not that world.
Supporting ActressCarey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis)Watching a bristly Carey Mulligan rip into Oscar Issac’s Llewyn was one of the best film related joys in the year of 2013.
Best Original ScreenplayJoel and Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis)The Coens' whip smart yet deeply pessimistic script fills Inside Llewyn Davis with equal amounts of laughs and pathos.Best Adapted ScreenplayPeter Berg (Lone Survivor)Peter Berg's screenplay understands what it's like to be a soldier fighting for his life, in the middle of a warzone. The film never forgets to make the soldiers actual rounded characters whose interests extend far beyond the battlefield.
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A New Mexico landowner is suing the bosses of America's new number one movie Lone Survivor after they allegedly turned his property into an Afghan war zone without the proper permission. The executives celebrating the success of Peter Berg's war film, starring Mark Wahlberg, have been hit with demands from Patrick Elwell, who claims they asked the wrong person for permission to use the land.
Georgia Film Fund Seventeen Productions officials paid $35,000 (£21,900) to La Merced de Pueblo de Chilili for permission to use the property, but it appears they may have done the deal with the wrong man.
In a letter sent to film producers on 3 November (13), and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Elwell wrote, "I have no idea who authorized your Production Company to use my property for the filming of the 'Lone Survivor,' nor have I personally authorized any person or organization to act in my absence."
Local reports suggest the property has been under dispute since 1841, when the Chilili Land Grant was created by the Mexican government and sold off. Elwell's ancestors were among the first settlers, and he has a property deed to support his claim of being a rightful owner.
The Lone Survivor producers conducted their deal with Juan Sanchez, president of the Chilili Land Grant, and other local leaders, who believe the land sales to be illegal even though courts have rejected their position.
Elwell has demanded $75,000 (£46,900) for filming on the property and a further $85,000 (£53,100) for "reclamation costs due to destruction of natural erosion preventing vegetation".
The movie bosses have called on a New Mexico federal judge to determine the true owner of the property, and if he or she rules in Elwell's favour, they are demanding that Sanchez and his organisation cover their costs.

Universal via Everett Collection
Lone Survivor isn't a film for the faint of heart. It's a film that beats you down and only lets you up for a few precious moments before the credits roll, but that emotional throttling is what helps make the film such a powerful experience.
Peter Berg's Lone Survivor tells the story of Operation Red Wings, primarily focusing on a group of four Navy SEALs who are sent to the mountains of Afganistan to capture or kill a member of the Taliban. The plan goes wrong, and the team has to fight for their lives to escape the enemy-infested area. The film does a marvelous job of ratcheting up the tension before collapsing into its main action sequence, one that is as thrilling as it is unsettling. The long sequence brings forth memories of the infamous D-Day opening of Saving Private Ryan, except this film's fire-fight stretches out the violence like a medieval torture device. The langourous scene is, at times, hard to sit through. Each moment slips by in coiled tension. It's undoubtedly uncomfortable, and the film makes a point to never make the violence fun or enticing. The action isn't consequence-free, and every bullet fired carries weight, making the scenes brutal and unrelenting because of it. The film takes on the aura of a horror movie that wants you to feel every second that ticks by, and director Berg makes sure that a pressing hopelessness starts to weigh on the viewer just as it does on the soldiers.
Mark Wahlberg is plenty capable as Marcus Lutrell, a member of the SEAL unit that is sent on the mission. The supporting cast plays its parts admirably by believably infusing a diverse set of personalities and values into the soldiers, while still keeping them in tune with the same military culture that governs much of their thoughts and actions. There's a great scene where a difficult decision has to be made, and the viewer gets to see the different directions to which some of the character's moral compasses are tuned. Sometimes the right thing can mean different things to different people when the risk of death is on the table. The real standout in the cast is Ben Foster, whose SO2 Matthew Alexson swirls with barely contained fury. He is darkly intense and has electric screen presence that really starts to manifest when the bullets star flying and things become dire.
Universal via Everett Collection
For all the good will that the film builds up in its first and second act, the final third of the film hits some snags as history demands that the story take itself to a different location, sacrificing some of the tension that it has built up. In the last 30 minutes of the film, there are some odd tonal choices that don't gel with the tension brimming in the first half. A comedic scene involving a language barrier stands out in particular.
The movie makes a point to steer clear of any political judgment, and it doesn't try to lay blame for the botched mission on any one head. And while the film never outwardly states and opinion on the conflicts that America found itself embroiled in during this time period, the searing brutality depicted in the movie highlight that no one should be subjected to the pain that these men were faced with. Made abundantly clear is the soldiers' willingness to drop everything and serve their country the best way they know how. Lone Survivor tries to honor the soldier, but not glorify war.
Lone Survivor is at its best when it makes you feel the worst. It gives soldiers their due reverence by showcasing the true terror of the battlefield, and while the film does start to sag a bit in its third act, it's still more than worth the experience in order understand the consequences of war, and its toll on the people in the trenches.
3.5/5
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Directed the high school football themed film drama "Friday Night Lights"

Helmed and produced the sci-fi action feature "Battleship"

Raised in Chappaqua, NY

First film lead, Wes Craven's "Shocker"

Played a sexual deviant travelling around the desert calling from his car in Spike Lee's "Girl 6"

TV-movie debut, "Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story" (CBS)

Directed The Rock and Seann William Scott in "The Rundown"

Co-starred in Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs"

Helmed "The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as U.S. government agents sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in Saudi Arabia; also co-wrote screenplay

Sold first script (co-wrote with Michael Schiffer), "Furious George"

Made TV acting debut on the crime drama "The Equalizer" (CBS)

Cast as a punch-drunk former pugilist dragged out of retirement by Samuel L. Jackson in "The Great White Hype"

Cast in featured role in the comedy "Corky Romano"

Made feature debut in "Miracle Mile"

Summary

As a multi-faceted actor, writer and director, Peter Berg moved with ease from theater to film to television and back again. After making a name for himself primarily as an actor first and foremost, especially with his regular series role as Dr. Billy Kronk on the acclaimed drama, "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000), Berg furthered his aspirations as a writer-director with the ill-received black comedy, "Very Bad Things" (1998). Undeterred by the awful critical reaction and poor box office totals of his first film, Berg continued to develop as an artist, eventually being hailed for his third feature, "Friday Night Lights" (2004). Not artistically satisfied, he developed the feature into a critically acclaimed series in 2006, earning numerous awards and nominations, firmly distancing himself from his disastrous directing debut. Though the series "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 2006- ) failed to attract a large audience - at least in the eyes of the network - both fans and critics alike campaigned to keep the show on air, despite constant rumors whether or not it was on the verge of cancellation. For Berg, both the film and show established him as a gifted talent from which many more exceptional projects were expected.

Education

Name

The Taft School

Macalester College

Notes

About seeing the first cut of "Very Bad Things" (1998): "I was sick to my stomach. It was three hours, and I couldn't talk for about a day and a half afterwards. I didn't know where to begin. And my editor, who was fantastic, Stan Lebenthal, calmed me down and got me on my feet, and together we started attacking each scene. All these things that you hear – 'editing is the greatest part, you really find the movie in the editing room' – are all true. It's by far the most fun part of making the movie." – Berg quoted in Filmmaker magazine, Fall 1998

"I have very little desire to be a movie star. Robert Mitchum said it once – it's just not a man's job. There's something tremendously unsatisfying about it. You make a lot of money, you have a lot of opportunities, you get to sleep with a lot of very beautiful women, you get free food at restaurants. But you service other people's visions. Your privacy is stripped from you. People perceive you as something you're not. It's not half as interesting as going off and thinking up stories to tell." – Berg to Movieline magazine, November 1998

On Las Vegas as the inspiration for his directorial debut "Very Bad Things" (1998): "I couldn't help but notice these packs of white, suburban, middle-to upper-middle-class men roaming around the city, with just the look of real trouble in their eyes. I always felt like Vegas was kind of a lock that opened up a cage that allowed various different demon monsters to come charging out of men – things that men generally keep inside as they're going through the course of their normal lives.

"And I started wondering what might happen if you took a group of fairly normal people, going through life in as normal a way as one could theoretically imagine and you put them in this big pot of oil and turn up the flame.

"It was a situation ripe for satire, and I was trying to make a satire, certainly not something that's meant to be taken literally." – Berg quoted to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 22, 1998

"I write some pretty twisted sh*t. I like to have some people around me who are a little older, a little more conservative, and let them pull me back. I know that, left to my own devices, the stuff that really entertains me and that I really enjoy is probably not fit for mass human consumption." – Berg quoted in Time Out New York, Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 1998

About his research at Bellevue for "Wonderland" (2000): "Spending time at a psychiatric hospital, one is forced to take a long, hard look into the mirror and wonder why it is that neurotransmitters are functioning in a way that allows me to button my shirt properly and put my napkin in my lap for dinner. There were many times when I started feeling like I was cracking up after eight hours at Bellevue." – Berg to Talk Magazine, March 2000